Elden Ring guide: Rennala, Queen of the Full Moon guide (2024)

As an Elden Ring legacy dungeon, Raya Lucaria Academy isn’t quite as dense or involved as Stormveil Castle. And its boss, Rennala, Queen of the Full Moon, is far more gimmicky than Godrick the Grafted was. But with her unpredictable offensive magic and her dangerous summons, the queen of the Carians can still give you plenty of trouble. Good thing we’re here to help with this Elden Ring Rennala boss guide.

PREPARING FOR THE FIGHT

If you followed our guide for the Red Wolf of Radagon boss fight, then you’re probably fairly well prepared to take on Rennala. Several of these preparatory steps — especially the ones involving items you can find in and around Raya Lucaria academy — apply equally to both bosses.

GEAR UP: RAYA LUCARIA EDITION

Image: FromSoftware/Bandai Namco via Polygon

Just as with the Red Wolf, we recommend using the Carian Knight Armor, as it has fairly high magic defense for its weight category, and it’s light enough that you can probably incorporate pieces (or all) of it into your loadout fairly easily. It’s available near the Church of the Cuckoo site of grace. Travel through the graveyard like normal, but just before you reach the entrance that takes you to the large lift, look to your right over the ledge, and jump down toward the three zombie-things worshipping at the large tombstone.

And if you summoned Nepheli during the Godrick fight but haven’t yet spoken to her in the Roundtable Hold since then, head back to the hub, and look for her in the library to earn the Arsenal Charm. This talisman is incredibly useful, as it raises your maximum equip load, allowing you to wear heavier gear without slowing your movements.

Image: FromSoftware/Bandai Namco via Polygon

If you’re a magic user, chances are you grabbed the Graven-School Talisman, which raises sorcery potency, behind the false wall just before the Red Wolf’s boss room.

Now that you have access to the rest of the academy, you’ll want to go pick up the Radagon Icon Talisman, which improves the speed with which you cast spells.

Image: FromSoftware/Bandai Namco via Polygon

You’ll find it in a hidden area just after the Debate Parlor site of grace. Head outside, hang a sharp right, and look for a spot where you can jump over a railing onto a ledge below.

PLAY DEFENSE

As with the Red Wolf of Radagon, offensive magic won’t do you much good against Rennala. However, once you get to her second phase, it’s a good idea to enchant your shield with the Scholar’s Shield spell (available from Sellen in Limgrave’s Waypoint Ruins), which will help you tank through some of Rennala’s magic attacks by blocking.

If using this defensive spell isn’t an option for you, your best alternative is to equip Elden Ring’s Carian Knight Shield that you get from the hostile NPC who attacks you just before the elevator up to Rennala’s chamber, as it has higher-than-average magic damage negation.

Image: FromSoftware/Bandai Namco via Polygon

And if you don’t have the Spelldrake Talisman, head to the Earthbore Cave dungeon on the Weeping Peninsula, the landmass south of the Bridge of Sacrifice, and defeat the boss there to get it. Equipping it will increase your defense against Rennala’s powerful magic attacks, so it’s well worth the trip.

BLEED, BABY

Pure spellcasters may have trouble breaking through Rennala’s high magic defenses, but dexterity-focused characters won’t have any such problems, particularly if you’re using a weapon that causes bleed build-up (or blood-loss). This status effect works the same on some opponents as it does on you: Repeated strikes with a blood-loss-inflicting weapon causes the bleed meter to fill up, inflicting a massive chunk of damage when you get in enough attacks.

If you began the game as the Samurai or Bandit class, you already have a weapon that causes bleed. If you didn’t, you can easily get one.

Image: FromSoftware/Bandai Namco via Polygon

Head to the shallow river that feeds Lake Agheel in Limgrave and fight the NPC invader who attacks you to earn the dagger Reduvia, or grab the flail from the broken-down black carriages at the Gatefront Ruins, also in Limgrave. Both of these weapons have fairly low stat requirements (although 13 arcane to wield Reduvia is a bit steep at this stage of the game, so we personally recommend the flail).

Image: FromSoftware/Bandai Namco via Polygon

Furthermore, dexterity-focused players can head to the Castle Morne Rampart site of grace south of the Bridge of Sacrific at night and kill the mounted Night’s Cavalry boss to receive the super-sweet three-headed Nightrider Flail.

LEARN THE RENNALA FIGHT

The battle with Rennala comprises two distinct and very different phases.

RENNALA PHASE 1

Rennala’s first phase is gimmicky and easy, so we won’t go into too much detail. Basically, you need to jog around the room, avoiding flying books and candle flames, while striking the children who are maintaining their queen’s shield. They’re easily discerned by the golden aura around them. Once you hit or kill three of them, Rennala will fall from the sky, giving you the opportunity to damage her. This is where bleed comes in, as the status effect can make short work of her here, allowing you to complete this part of the fight in just two phases.

At the end of each damage phase, the Rennala will briefly glow, before unleashing a blast of energy. Be sure to dodge away before that happens. And use the brief pause after you take down her full health bar, but just before the second phase begins, to heal.

RENNALA PHASE 2

The Carian Queen’s second phase is considerably more challenging. She always opens this part of the fight by using Comet Azur, a big laser attack. Thankfully, you can easily avoid it by locking onto her and sprinting toward her, and then dodging to the side. This will also put you in a prime position to apply a buff, like Scholar’s Shield or Fire Grease, and start attacking her. The goal is to always get in close and attack with melee strikes. Jump attacks can keep her stunned, and even break her poise if used in succession, allowing you to do massive damage.

Rennala’s offensive spells, though varied, are generally easy to avoid. You should practice dodging through them. If magic bolts are slowly drifting toward you from right to left, wait until they get close, and then roll to your right, bypassing them entirely. And although the big laser looks intimidating, it’s actually a great opportunity to get in close and punish her every time she uses it, since there’s a long wind-up and it’s simple to dodge.

If you’re lucky, you can get through this entire fight without Rennala triggering any of her summons, which make things considerably more difficult when they arrive. The Elden Ring queen can spawn a large troll, a pack of wolves, a lithe Bloodhound Knight, and even a dragon, often in quick succession. When she does, it’s best to quickly focus damage on the summons while continuing to dodge Rennala’s spells, since they’ll usually die in a few hits, or even despawn on their own after several moments.

FIGHT SUMMONS WITH SUMMONS

Just like with other boss fights in Elden Ring, you can summon help by opening your multiplayer menu and using the Furlcalling Finger Remedy item to enable you to see other players’ summon signs. And don’t forget that you can use the Tarnished’s Furled Finger item to place your own summon sign, allowing you to help other players beat the boss in their own world, while getting to practice the fight without risking your runes.

Remember: The more players in the fight, the more health the boss will have. Keep that in mind as you take Rennala down, and make sure you’re getting as many hits in as possible during every opportunity to damage her.

With these strategies, Rennala should come back down to earth after no time. Defeating her will gain you another Great Rune, as well as the ability to respec your character’s stats.